Question Can I add 1 x 8GB Ram to 2x 4GB Ram?

SandSii

Honorable
Apr 19, 2017
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10,530
I currently have 2x 4GB of ram installed but want to upgrade to 16. Can I simply purchase an 8GB stick and add this?

My Motherboard is a GA-B250M-DS3H and the ram I have is 2x 4GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance and would be looking to add the 8GB equivalent.

And if this was ok to do, how would I go about doing it? Would I have to add the 8GB into a certain slot?

EDIT: Motherboard specs.
  1. 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory
    * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed.
  2. Dual channel memory architecture
  3. Support for DDR4 2400* / 2133 MHz memory modules
    * To support 2400 MHz or XMP memory, you must install a 7th generation processor.
  4. Support for ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
  5. Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modules
  6. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
    * To support 2400 MHz or XMP memory, you must install a 7th generation processor.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Installing a 3rd 8 GB RAM module may not be viable.

A 4 x 4GB matched kit may be a workable solution to achieve the 16 GB RAM total.

Or a 2 x 8 GB matched kit as an option.

You have the motherboard specs which is well and good.

However, the primary guide is the motherboard's User Guide/Manual.

The User Guide/Manual should provide both a listing of the supported RAM modules and how those modules must be or can be installed.

I found the following User Manual:

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-b250m-ds3h_e.pdf

Verify that I have indeed identified the correct manual applicable to your motherboard with respect to model and version.

Physically numbered Pages 9-10 cover memory installation.

Under the Configurations Table note the limitations imposed by the CPU.

From Page 9: " (Go to GIGABYTE's website for the latest supported memory speeds and memory modules.)"

Details matter.
 
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SandSii

Honorable
Apr 19, 2017
39
0
10,530
Installing a 3rd 8 GB RAM module may not be viable.

A 4 x 4GB matched kit may be a workable solution to achieve the 16 GB RAM total.

Or a 2 x 8 GB matched kit as an option.

You have the motherboard specs which is well and good.

However, the primary guide is the motherboard's User Guide/Manual.

The User Guide/Manual should provide both a listing of the supported RAM modules and how those modules must be or can be installed.

I found the following User Manual:

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-b250m-ds3h_e.pdf

Verify that I have indeed identified the correct manual applicable to your motherboard with respect to model and version.

Physically numbered Pages 9-10 cover memory installation.

Under the Configurations Table note the limitations imposed by the CPU.

From Page 9: " (Go to GIGABYTE's website for the latest supported memory speeds and memory modules.)"

Details matter.

Yeah that is the correct manual. So you're saying a 2x4gb and 1x8gb is not a good way to achieve 16gb? Would I be better off ditching the 4gbs and buying 2x 8GB?